BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I rarely ever review a professional wrestling documentary but when I do, I do it because I have to. I watch one of these things and feel an urge to put my thoughts about it out there. For better or for worst I just ramble. Paul Heyman has been a huge influence on me. I’m a lifelong wrestling fan. He was the man who basically created the ECW that would be emulated, loved, and idolized by me. If I said his company and how he put on a show wasn’t an influence on my own professional wrestling and even all creative endeavors. There are tons of stories and sides of this guy that make him such a great figurehead in professional wrestling history. This documentary spotlights the personality and shares the stories. It’s not as awesome I instantly thought it was. It’s a weird “worked shoot” type of production. Stuff that had a real story in the past has a lame dusting of “rewritten history” powder all over it. It’d be one thing if the story was told and we didn’t need to be pandered to but in between segments Paul Heyman himself will show up in character part of the time and out of the character other parts. Not just here and there, but within the same sentences. There are points where it cuts to close ups of his creepy eyes and him being in character. We get the story of Paul Heyman in this, but it feels artificial and overly produced when Paul pops up. I don’t even need to get into the random stories or the obvious impact he has, but I wanted to note the tone of the project. It’s just off. It ruined it for me. I love the story and would recommend anyone to watch this, but not as the bible of Heyman. Watch the “Rise and Fall of ECW” first, then like a million shoot tapes and then live through the 90s… then you MIGHT have a little bit more of a grasp of what’s missing here. The production feels like what would have happened if a pop music producer cleaned up the vocals and remixed a Nirvana album to sound like Justin Timberlake. Watch for the facts, hold off the for heart. B-
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